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I adore all three of these designers. Pnina Tornai is by far my favorite. However I don't have an arm and a leg to spend on a gown. Because of this I had decided to make my own dress. Well the females in my family had a huge fit over this saying it would be too hard for me to do. Which is ridiclous since I am currently working towards becoming a dress designer with my own boutique.
The more I think about this the more I realize that for my wedding I want to be spoiled, not doing a ton of work for my dress.
I was wondering if any of you lovely bees know of other designers that are similar but not crazy expensive.
I have done a ton of looking, on the knot, brides.com.. a ton of dress galleries.
I just feel like I have run out of options and I was hoping you all cold help.. :(
if you post pictures of the specific dresses you love, I'm sure we'll be able to help find you similar ones for less.
agree with Jacqi - tell us what styles you love and we can help. Off the top of my head I cannot think of any designers that make the same or similar dresses to her but Im sure SOMEONE will know something :)
For the past week I have been completely enamoured with this Amsale gown. Its from their fall 2010 runway show, so it obviously is not out yet, but maybe something similar is.
amsale.jpg (22.1 KB, 386 downloads) 2 years old
I loooove the first Monique Lhuillier here.. and the second also but it is also from the fall 2010 line.
monique2.jpg (22.8 KB, 297 downloads) 2 years old monique.jpg (27.3 KB, 204 downloads) 2 years old
Gorgeous. Thre are a lot of similar dresses like that out there but I believe they are all Monque or ODLR. What kind of budget are you working with?
I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the huge looks for this season. You may see a lot of them in various price points coming out soon.
This Pnina Tornai lovely is my dream of all dream dresses.
I'm not totally sure on my budget yet, but I know definitely 3000 or under.. and that 3k is probably shooting way too high. But I do know that my dress is one of the single most important aspects of my wedding day for me so I am willing to stretch.
What is ODLR?
pninatornai.jpg (36.9 KB, 723 downloads) 2 years old 
Honestly, just stalk the used wedding dresses website. You might be able to find a replica but I have a feeling that if you are a fashion designer and are really interested in fashion, the lack of quality, the fabric, etc is really going to irk you. I am sure Monique Lhullier/ Oscar De La Renta has some past season that are equally gorgeous.
Try oncewed.com, they usually have higher-end designers within your budget on dresses that were samples, or once-worn. It's a also a great blog.
ODLR is Oscar De La Renta. A girl on Say Yes to the Dres bought that Pnina above - it was something like $25,000. Insanity! Definitely check some pre-owned sites. you might also want to look into having one custom made by a seamstress to see if she can work with your budget. You never know!
What about SaBelle by Maggie Sottero? It is somewhat similar to the pnina dress you posted above. You can always add more flowers and the shoulder strap. A couple of other Maggie dresses have a similar skirt.
preownedweddingdresses.com can be useful too. A lot of bees have found their dress on ebay. Sample sales - I got my $5600 dress for $2300 at a store (Glamour Closet, San Francisco) which sells last season's samples from the high-end boutiques.
Maggie has similar styles........
Fleur
Hampton
Oakley
Selma
SaBelle
Edwina
preownedweddingdresses.com can be useful too. A lot of bees have found their dress on ebay. Sample sales - I got my $5600 dress for $2300 at a store (Glamour Closet, San Francisco) which sells last season's samples from the high-end boutiques. Really, it's hard to substitute if you want that wonderful dress - the design, the fabric, the craftsmanship. I understand!
Those gowns are all gorgeous...but pricey! I thought of a dress that looks like the second Monique Lhuillier gown you have posted. Its a Jim Hjelm and they gowns run from 2000-3000 (sometimes a little bit higher). Im not sure what your price range is but check this dress out! Its gorgeous!
And good luck with your search!
3 of my favorite dress designers! Try Sophia Tolli and La Sposa by Pronovias as well. What is your budget for your gown?
The last Pninan that you posted reminds me of the sabelle.. I think it comes in a color similar as well. Being a dress designer you may be able to embellish it a bit more to make it funkier and more couture.
There is another dress I am in love with by Rosa Clara. It's called Rodeo.
rodeo1.jpg (142.7 KB, 164 downloads) 2 years old
There is another dress I am in love with by Rosa Clara. It's called Rodeo.
No one in Austin has SaBelle for me to try on. It was one of the first alternatives I looked for.. It is beautiful.
Hmmmm have you called dallas or the surrounding areas maybe? I have no idea how far it is, also have you asked the dress shops to get one in for you to try on?
You definitely have the couture taste bug my dear....at this point I think I would buy a dress, then embellish it myself! The structure will be there (maybe the hardest part to make for yourself...i knwo it's hard to pin things on me, then try them on, etc) so you can work off THAT and make it all kinds of couture yourself!
this sophia tolli has the same feel of the dresses you posted it's Y 1833 and it comes in gold.
these shops carry her in austin
Austin Bridal and formal and Belle Saison Bridal
@EJ Good pix ej! can you promise to help me too when the time comes?
This dress looks like poo on the model, however is stunning on a real life person. It is Maggie's Meredith.
Still way out of your price range but-
http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/dresses/8554/Pnina-Tornai-2007-Runway-Style-Size-4.html
12k off! "Only" 8k.
"Still way out of your price range but-
http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/dresses/8554/Pnina-Tornai-2007-Runway-Style-Size-4.html
12k off! "Only" 8k."
hi, saw this link and thought id offer some friendly advise as it made me quiye angry to see the dress for sale on preowned wedding dresses. i may be wrong but i think thats a fake, the reason being, this link has 2 pictures, of compleatly different dresses. i know this because i bought one of them for £100, custom made from ebay. it obviously needs alterations and i thought the quality of the flowers were shabby so removed them and had nicer ones fitted, all included my dress has cost me £250, i also noticed that this seller has many designer dresses so decided to investigate which who they are ripping off with my gown (just out of interest) and came across that preownedweddingdresses link.
this is the real pnina tornai dress
http://www.pninatornai.co.il/img/b2007/29.htm
i still haven't found where the photo on ebay comes from so if anyone else knows then please let me know. in the meantime, dont get caught out paying $8000 for a dress you can buy for $150 (as long as you have at least 3 months to spare for changes and alterations)
I think you should take printouts of the wedding dresses you love and bring them to a good bridal studio with your budget.
I am sure they can find you good alternatives in your price range. I had a good idea of what I wanted and it took me trying on 60 dresses at several studio's before I found the one I wanted.
I think Maggie Sottero might be your best bet for beautiful, couture looking dresses at a reasonable price, so call around and find studio's that carry Maggie's ... I did a few day-trips to get to bridal studio's that carried the lines I wanted to try on (Watters & Watters and Maggie Sottero)
@squoze- Those two picture are completely different dresses HOWEVER, they are both real Pnina Tornai gowns. The champagne colored one (the one I previously posted) just isn't made any more so it isn't on Pnina Tornai's website. I first fell in love with it from the Kleinfeld's website. That's how I know it's real.
the last pnina that you posted actually made an appearance on SYTTD. I think Fofi bought it at Kleinfield's. It was a 25,000 dress that they got for like 13,000 or something like that. I agree that Maggie will probably be your best bet on the style, and perhaps you can have elements added or add them yourself to make them more couture.
Lol, I have moved on from the Pnina Tornai. Which is a huge deal because I was in love with that dress for several years (since before I knew FI). I want the Amsale I posted.. Actually.. I designed my own version.. It is based off of the Amsale I love and a Monique Lhuillier that isn't posted here.
1030091616.jpg (26.2 KB, 90 downloads) 2 years old
i know the monique, i actually like your picture better than the pnina it is doing way too much for me! the monique and amsale area quieter more sophisticated look.
ahh so now i know, thanks :-) would still totally recommend ebay for custom made rip off dresses, that Pnina has now cost me a grant total of £600, most of that cost was due to the fact that i decided to remove the sequins and replace them swarovski crystals and had some off white chiffon to cover the gold underlayer (it was too gold for my taste) other than that. perfect :-) i want to scream ebay to all brides as im so excited about it lol
Squoze, which vendor on ebay did you buy from? I have seen this Pnina Tornai on ebay from a vendor in China and was tempted but hesitant. What about the quality of the fabrics? Any chance you would be willing to post some pics of your actual dress just to see what it looks like?
Thanks!!!
Browse http://dressfinder.com and see if anything catches your eye. You can always design the dress you want and have it made by a seamstress in your area.
Hello girls.. I am new on here...I AM TOTALLY CRAZY ABOUT PNINA TORNAI WEDDING DRESSES.. i was undecided which one get..The last pnina that was posted is $24,000 and you can get for $ 12,000-13,000 which is TOO MUCH FOR MY POCKET...But like my mom said.. that wedding dress is very very elegant, heavy and is not a modern idea dress..I see that dress on somebody who is marrying at some castle or something very formal...anyway, i found some that i liked but the one that i pick is this one ... I will have to see how much they asking at kleinfeld and if if is very expensive i will have to go with a replica of it...I got a quote from a really good company in china that does all kind of wedding dress you can imagine for $500.. that she will be using swarovski crystals and the veil will match the dress..Ah, the shipping is incluided..
If somebody know more informtion about this wedding dress i would love to know..I need more pictures.. need to see the detals on the corset.
018_sec02.jpg (28.1 KB, 147 downloads) 2 years old 2150474937_68fa69033b.jpg (46.1 KB, 174 downloads) 2 years old 
i LOVE pnina gowns...but i just don't get the ones with the see-through tops. maybe i'm in the minority, but to me it looks like they forgot the top part of the gown, so they sent her down the runway/isle in the skirt and just her lacey bra top?
Your uniting theme among the dresses seems to be a full skirt and ruffles!!! I recommend looking into Pronovias. They can be quite reasonable and because they discontuine and issue so many atyles each season you might be able to get a good deal on a sample!
Pnina Tornai is an Italian designer where see through corsets are very popular with the brides. That's why you'll often see her dresses with a see through bodice.
If you look at other Italian bridal designers, you'll also see the see through corsets.
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